Contempt: House panel moves against Holder

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena in the “Fast and Furious” investigation, setting up a legal showdown with President Barack Obama in the middle of his tough reelection battle.

Within minutes, Republican leaders announced plans for a vote of the full House on the contempt resolution.

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The dramatic committee action came after Holder asserted executive privilege over some of the documents sought by the House panel, which is chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

But GOP lawmakers weren’t swayed, and they proceeded with the contempt vote despite bitter objections from the White House, Justice Department and Democratic lawmakers. Speaker John Boehner and other top Republicans went so far as to suggest the White House was using executive privilege to cover up its involvement in Fast and Furious.

Issa and his fellow GOP lawmakers on the Oversight panel defeated several Democratic amendments seeking to revise or water down the contempt resolution and its accompanying report. Republicans then pushed through the chairman’s measure, the gist of which was leaked weeks ago, on a 23-17 vote.

Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a joint statement after the committee vote that they plan to forge ahead with a floor vote next week unless Holder relents.

”While we had hoped it would not come to this, unless the Attorney General reevaluates his choice and supplies the promised documents, the House will vote to hold him in contempt next week,” Boehner and Cantor said. “If, however, Attorney General Holder produces these documents prior to the scheduled vote, we will give the Oversight Committee an opportunity to review in hopes of resolving this issue.”

Holder issued his own statement after the vote blasting Issa.

“This divisive action does not help us fix the problems that led to this operation or previous ones and it does nothing to make any of our law enforcement agents safer,” Holder said. “It’s an election-year tactic intended to distract attention — and, as a result — has deflected critical resources from fulfilling what remains my top priority at the Department of Justice: Protecting the American people.”

The Oversight panel’s vote, and Obama administration’s move to invoke executive privilege, is similar to battles between President George W. Bush and Democrats over the extent of presidential power. It sets up a much more serious debate over the authority of the executive and legislative branches as it relates to the botched gun surveillance program, which allowed Mexican drug cartels to obtain roughly 2,000 weapons from U.S. gun dealers.

The dispute over Fast and Furious, and the Holder-Issa showdown, adds fuel to the already heated partisan atmosphere on Capitol Hill. Democrats slammed Issa for his handling of the probe, saying a legitimate congressional inquiry has now turned into a personal power struggle between him and Holder, as well as an opportunity for Issa to get headlines and TV time.